NU Online News Service, Sept. 8, 12:04 p.m.EDT

The New York State Insurance Department has finally beenaccredited by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners'after operating for 19 years without the NAIC imprimatur.

At the NAIC's Fall National Meeting in National Harbor, Md., thestate was finally recognized for meeting the requirements of theorganization's Financial Regulations Standards and AccreditationProgram. The NAIC standards were approved in 1989 and the firststates were accredited in 1990,

"The accreditation program is the cornerstone of solvencyregulation, and it helps keep us accountable to one another," saidRoger Sevigny, NAIC President and New Hampshire InsuranceCommissioner. "By obtaining accreditation, New York hasdemonstrated its continued commitment to the NAIC and state-basedfinancial solvency regulation."

Action to secure accreditation for the state was commenced byformer New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo, who said inFebruary that he expected it would come through this year.

Mr. Dinallo said then that a key reason why New York, unlikemost states, had not been accredited by the NAIC was because untillast year it lacked a statute regulating risk-based capital. Nowthat such a law has been passed, New York will get accreditationdone in 2009, "assuming the NAIC finds us adequate," hepredicted.

NAIC accreditation of a state means it meets the organization'sstandards for setting insurer solvency rules, along with a varietyof other requirements. The accreditation program is an attempt bythe NAIC to establish national uniformity in insurance oversight,and New York's lack of accreditation has long been seen asundermining that goal, at least in terms of perception.

"State insurance regulators share a common commitment topolicyholder protection through solvency regulation," said Mr.Dinallo's successor, New York Insurance Superintendent James J.Wrynn. "New York's decision to seek accreditation underlines thatcommitment."

Accredited insurance departments are required to undergo acomprehensive review by an independent review team every five yearsto ensure the departments continue to meet baseline financialsolvency oversight standards.

The accreditation standards require state insurance departmentsto have adequate statutory and administrative authority to regulatean insurer's corporate and financial affairs, and that they havethe necessary resources to carry out that authority.